Beer, Wine, Food, Festivals and Golf are HOPPIN’ here in Yakima Valley
Bob Sherwin • CG Staff Writer
For 30 years running, thousands of visitors have been drawn to the Yakima Valley to play the state’s most iconic golf hole, the apple-shaped par-3 17th island green. Called a ‘visual masterpiece,’ the 180-yard hole at Apple Tree Golf Club is one of the most famous island greens in the country, covering 10,000-square feet with nine different tee approaches.
How can any golfer resist taking a shot at the famed island — consistently ranked among the area’s top tourist attractions — then regaling your mates with boasts over a beer.
Yet in the view of Valley boosters here, maybe it should be the other way around. Maybe it’s the beer — or more specifically the hops that give beer its flavor and robustness — that should be at least as renowned as a hole in the ground.
The reason is simple. Yakima Valley annually harvests and ships out 75 percent of the nation’s hops, and a hefty percentage globally as well. It’s one of the ‘big three’ highly acclaimed products that grace this region and the hops, apples and grapes (wine) that grow here are among the finest in the world.
Apples set the table with 1,700 Valley growers, many working 100-year-old orchards, and supplying two-thirds of the nation’s consumers with apples, along with many sent to far-off countries. The Valley is at the core of the industry.
Wine production from this region, which shocked the world a generation ago with spectacular yields, is now recognized around the globe from sommeliers to two-buck-chuck lovers. Wineries, both the corporate variety and single-vineyard vintners, have sprung up throughout the Valley, attracting ever-increasing throngs. The Washington Wine Commission boasts over 1,000 wineries in our state and the Yakima region is on par with places like Napa, Sonoma and Bordeaux.
Hops have been there all along, dating back more than 150 years, but, for whatever reason, it has been late to the party. It only has been during the past decade that the area’s hop industry – best in the world by nearly any measure – has held celebrations honoring itself.
The Yakima Valley Tourism folks, cranking up the promotions for the local hops industry, are giving new meaning to the term bar hopping. All summer long, bars, breweries, tents, and taverns are enticing visitors to come through (after taking their Apple island shot) to sample hops in their most efficacious form. The hop celebration culminates Oct. 8 with the Fresh Hop Ale Festival.
“It’s a golf-beer-wine adventure,” said Jennifer Martinkus, marketing manager for Yakima Valley Tourism.
Even though hops have been around forever, celebrating the climbing dioecious plant didn’t really take root until recently. That’s when local craft beers became such a thing with the opening of Bale Breaker Brewing Company. The establishment, bordered on three sides by Cascade hop fields, features craft IPAs and ales.
“Wine was definitely here before the hops. They’ve been grown (grapes) for generations,” Martinkus said. “Craft beer wasn’t big until about nine years ago. When Bale Breaker opened, the scene really started to explode. We went from a handful of small breweries to a craft beer trail with 15 breweries and nine taphouses. It’s a huge part of the fabric of the community now.”
Better late than never, but why so late?
“In retrospect, we’ve had that conversation a lot. Our roots are wine, but the hops industry (celebration) should have been here a long time ago. It’s a perfect fit for our area. For those growing hops, they get a passion for beer, for the aroma, the fragrance, and the flavor of the hops,” Martinkus said. “The inspiration (for the celebration) came from within the hops community.”
Only commercially grown hops are harvested in the Yakima Valley. There are three distinct growing areas: Moxee Valley, the Yakima Indian Reservation and the Lower Yakima Valley. Each area is separated by just 50 miles but have their own unique growing conditions and produce different hops characteristics.
The hops community has been gearing up all summer with something going on just about every night in the Valley. It all leads up to the Fresh Hop Ale Festival Oct. 8. Best to check VisitYakima.com for a rundown.
One early summer highlight was in late June when ESPN came to downtown Yakima to televise a Cornhole competition. A better excuse to drink a beer has not been invented.
Music performances at Single Hill Brewery and Perfect Circle Brewing and comedy competition at Hop Capital Brewing were scheduled in July. There have been many other music events and craft beer trails throughout the summer.
“What I love about it is everyone is so approachable and welcoming, for all ages,” Martinkus said. “Come as you are. No need to dress up. Just have fun.” There are 300 days of sunshine a year in the Valley, so prepare for summer heat. But when the calendar flips to September, action picks up and the temperatures decline. “September and early October are my favorite times to be in the Valley. The sun is not as hot and the nights are crisp,” Martinkus said. “Come over for the golf — catch the crush.”
Golfers annually gravitate east as fall approaches, looking for dry weather and more comfortable temps over the mountains. The Apple island will have its many glory seekers and golfers will try some of the other tracks in the Valley, such as Fisher Park or River Ridge.
Concurrently, September is also the month when all the hops are harvested, a frantic 30-day period when the cones are picked, stripped and readied for processing. The entertainment highlight of the summer will be the first ever Hop Country Music Festival, featuring Salah-native country star Cole Beebe and The Crooks on Fri., Sept. 9 at Sozo Sports Complex. Generation Radio also will be featured.
On Sat., Sept. 10, the Hop Country Music headliner will be Cole Swindell, a multi-platinum-record award winner.
One month later, the Fresh Hop Ale Festival will commence at Sozo, a beer-lover’s delight, part of “one of the top 10 beer festivals in the nation.” There will be more than 70 breweries, wineries and cideries represented at the event.
Everyone is guaranteed that whatever beer they order, it will be fresh. All beer served at the Fresh Hop Ale Festival is required to be brewed from fresh hops harvested in the Valley this fall. It’s also a competition. Each brewery submits its best beer for judging by the patrons, who vote through tasting tokens.
It seems that while all along beer loving Yakimanians were raising toasts and holding celebrations for their other acclaimed commodities, they could have been toasting what they were holding. Hops have finally taken their rightful place among the ‘big three.’
Residents and tourists alike enjoy an embarrassment of riches that this treasured land yields, apples, grapes and hops. While many are drawn to the region as sort of ‘island-hoppers,’ taking their shots at the 17th Apple Tree green, there’s more to experience after you put your putter away. Come for the golf and stay for the beer.
Make your own memories and click to VisitYakima.com and craft your own experience this summer or fall.